You might not expect Nashville’s first poke restaurant to be the site of an upcoming fundraiser for Ukrainian refugee relief. But that just means you don’t know Yev Mikhailov.
Mikhailov moved to Nashville from the Chicago area five years ago and opened East Nashville’s Kawai Poké Co. because he thought the city needed the traditionally Hawaiian, marinated raw sliced fish (kind of like sushi in a bowl). A healthy alternative in a city of meat-and-threes.
But before Mikhailov was a transplant from Chicago he was an immigrant. In 1989 his family immigrated from Ukraine to the United States, escaping what he describes as the “corruption and oppression of the U.S.S.R.” He was 4 years old; his sister was 11. While their immediate family is no longer in Ukraine, they have extended family and friends in the Eastern European country and are watching with concern as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine rages on.
“My mother’s hometown was bombed the other day," Mikhailov says. "It is very hard to watch."
Mikhailov’s mother is coming to town from Florida, and his sister from Illinois, and the three of them are cooking traditional Ukrainian foods in a pop-up they are calling Mama Lyalya’s Kitchen & Market (a nod to Mikhailov’s mother’s nickname). The one-day event will take place Saturday, March 19, at Kawai Poké Co. The siblings will grill shashliki (shish kebabs) on the patio while Mama Lyalya fries up piersohki (hand pies) and dishes out borscht and side salads inside. Top it all off with blinchiki (a dessert crepe filled with farmer’s cheese). Seating will be available both inside and outside, and Mikhailov notes that much of this food is good street food, easily eaten while strolling the streets of East Nashville. Grand Market International will donate some other Eastern European provisions that will be available for sale in a market-like setup.
Proceeds from everything will benefit two nonprofits: Razom and World Central Kitchen. Mikhailov and family chose these charities because they wanted one that was food-centric and one that was not. There will be opportunities to donate in addition to what comes from your delicious purchases.
Mama Lyalya spent an extended period in town helping launch Kawai Poké Co., and Mikhailov says she will enjoy feeding Nashville again. Don’t disappoint her. Show up Saturday, March 19, between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. at 901 Woodland St.
Kawai owner Yev Mikhailov with his sister and mother in Ukraine, 1985
